Ever wondered what gave your great-grandmother's pie crust that perfect flakiness? Or why vintage skincare recipes swore by "rendered fat"?
That’s tallow—and it’s making a well-deserved comeback. Let’s break down why this timeless fat is so popular again and how you can use it to nourish your body and skin, naturally.
Beef tallow is pure, rendered fat from cattle, and it’s been a go-to for nourishing skin and cooking real food for thousands of years. But how do we transform beef fat into a luxurious skincare product? It all starts with how beef tallow is made.
We begin with suet, the prized fat found around the kidneys and loins of sustainably and ethically raised Canadian cattle. It’s gently cleaned, chopped, and slowly heated to separate the pure fat.
After multiple rounds of straining, what’s left is clean, golden tallow. For our cooking tallow, the process stops there, yielding a clean, flavourful cooking fat rich in stable saturated fats, heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, and essential vitamins that support your overall health.
But to make it suitable for skincare, the process goes further. We carefully purify the tallow, gently removing any strong scents while preserving its nutrient-rich profile. This leaves us with a refined tallow that hydrates, calms irritation, and supports skin repair—without clogging pores or leaving a greasy residue.
For thousands of years, tallow wasn’t just useful, it was essential. In times of scarcity, this single ingredient nourished, protected, and healed.
Indigenous communities across North America used every part of the animal—including tallow—for cooking, preserving food, waterproofing tools, and shielding skin from harsh weather. Beef tallow uses in 18th- and 19th-century Europe were just as versatile. Households relied on it for everything from candle and soap-making to golden Yorkshire puddings and flaky meat pies.
Tallow was even packed into wartime ration kits and blended with herbs in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine to deliver healing ingredients deep into the skin.
From firelight to first aid, from sustenance to skincare, tallow quite literally kept people alive. Then came industrialization. Processed seed oils, with chemical additives and claims of being “healthier” and “more modern” pushed ancestral fats aside.
And tallow quietly faded from view.
After decades of misleading marketing touting synthetics as the healthier choice, natural fats are making a well-deserved comeback. And tallow is at the heart of this wellness revolution.
So, what exactly is beef tallow good for?
On TikTok and Instagram, influencers call it a “miracle moisturizer” and “clean beauty essential”—praising its ability to calm irritation, lock in moisture, and simplify their routines.
But this isn’t just hype, it’s backed by science. A peer-reviewed 2024 study in the medical journal Cureus confirmed what tallow lovers have known all along: it works. Researchers found that tallow’s bioidentical fatty acid profile locks in hydration, supports repair, and offers relief from dryness, eczema, and even psoriasis.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, chefs are falling in love with tallow all over again. Its rich, savoury depth of flavour takes dishes to the next level. And since it’s heat-stable, it’s perfect for high-heat cooking—giving fried foods a golden crisp and bringing out the natural goodness of roasted meats and veggies.
The best part? Unlike harmful seed oils and irritating synthetics, all this goodness doesn’t come at the cost of your health. Packed with healthy fats like omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and vitamins A, D, E, and K, beef tallow supports everything from heart health and glowing skin to a strong immune system and resilient bones.
Tallow is simply a return to what’s always worked.
| Skincare tallow | Cooking tallow | |
|---|---|---|
| Processing | Gently refined to keep skin-loving nutrients while removing any strong scents | Filtered to maintain its rich flavour and high-heat stability |
| Ingredients | 100% natural beef tallow, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, boreal forest wildflower honey | Pure beef tallow or infused with garlic for extra flavour |
| Benefits | Packed with vitamins A, D, E, and K, plus CLA and fatty acids to keep your skin hydrated, smooth, and glowing | Full of stable fats that provide long-lasting energy and support overall health |
| Applications | Use as a face moisturizer, lip balm, cuticle care, or after-sun treatment | Perfect for pan-frying, roasting, sautéing, and baking |
| Texture | Silky smooth and absorbs fast, leaving skin soft without any greasiness | Firm at room temperature but melts easily when cooking |
| Scent | Meticulously refined to deliver clean, scent-free skincare | A bit bolder, especially when garlic-infused for cooking |
